Houston, we have a welder shortage

Published 11:28 pm, Friday, September 27, 2013

San Jacinto College welding students get plenty of valuable hands-on training in well-equipped labs that prepare them to be job-ready upon graduation.

San Jacinto College welding students get plenty of valuable hands-on training in well-equipped labs that prepare them to be job-ready upon graduation.

Houston, we have a welder shortage

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

The Houston area needs welders. Demand far outstrips supply, thanks to the continuing strength of the oil and gas industry here as well as the large number of these skilled workers reaching retirement age.

Houstonians looking to enter the field have multiple opportunities for employment and for the education needed to obtain it.

"Houston is definitely the hub. More welders are needed here than anywhere else," said Tom Tynan, program director for the construction and trades department at Houston Community College. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms his statement. It ranks Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown as the top metropolitan area for employment of welders in the country.

Basic certificate programs prepare students for entry-level employment and can take just a semester. Advanced certificate programs expand a welder's skill set and can be completed in two to three semesters, depending on the level of welding being taught.

At either school, students can learn the trade as part of an associate degree.

Both schools have waiting lists for their welding programs and are looking toward expansion to meet the high demand. HCC has added bilingual classes for Spanish-speaking students, while San Jacinto College recently offered a 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. course on shield metal arc welding for those with availability only during that time.

"It was a pilot class, and we found that the students really enjoyed the flexibility and being at the school by themselves," said welding instructor Tiburcio Parras, San Jacinto College.

Graduates of the HCC and SJC welding programs have the knowledge and skills needed to pass the American Welding Society certificate test applicable to the type of welding they studied. Companies look for this type of certification when hiring and test prospective employees themselves.

Tynan and Parras pointed to oil and gas as the Houston-area industry with the greatest need for welders, but they also include ship building, fabrication, manufacturing and construction companies as among those offering local employment opportunities to their graduates.

To those considering a career in welding, Parras encouraged all to take the next step.

"There are no limitations in welding," he said. "You just need the desire to learn."

Future welders should be in good physical shape, though, as they will need to lift heavy pieces of metal, stand for long periods of time and perform repetitious movements. Good vision and strong hand-eye coordination also are a must.

And while men outnumber women in welding, Tynan said that need not be so.

"Women actually make better welders than men," he said. "They are more patient and have more control with their hands. You have to have a very soft touch to be a welder."

Pay in the field of welding depends on skill and area of the country.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the annual mean wage for welders in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown at $40,300 as of May 2012.

That's higher than the annual mean average of $38,100 for Texas. Welders also often have plenty of opportunities to put in overtime.

To earn a higher wage, Tynan advised students to earn an advanced certificate in 6G pipe, a more difficult type of welding.

"Pipe welding is where the real money is. If you can do 6G, you can get a job immediately as long as you pass the (AWS) test. There are pipeline welders making $4,000 to $6,000 a week," he said.

As with any job, those higher wages go to welders willing to work in more dangerous settings, such as underwater or in an unsafe area of the world.